CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

absorption    →   apsorpcija

Absorption is a phenomenon that occurs when matter crosses from one phase to another passing through the border surface and in the other phase more or less monotonously distributes itself in a concentration higher than the one within the first phase.

acid-base titration    →   kiselo-bazna titracija

Acid-base titration is an analytical technique in volumetric analysis, where an acid of known concentration is used to neutralise a known volume of a base, and the observed volume of the acid required is used to determine the unknown concentration of the base. An acid-base indicator is used to determine the end-point of the titration.

activated complex    →   aktivirani kompleks

Activated complex is an intermediate structure formed in the conversion of reactants to products. The activated complex is the structure at the maximum energy point along the reaction path; the activation energy is the difference between the energies of the activated complex and the reactants.

adsorption    →   adsorpcija

Adsorption is a process in which molecules of gas, of dissolved substances in liquids, or of liquids adheres in an extremely thin layer to surfaces of solid bodies with which they are in contact.

amperometry    →   amperometrija

Amperometry is determining the concentration of a material in a sample by measuring electric current passing through a cell containing the solution.

amplitude    →   amplituda vala

Amplitude is the displacement of a wave from zero. The maximum amplitude for a wave is the height of a peak or the depth of a trough, relative to the zero displacement line.

average rate of reaction    →   prosječna brzina reakcije

Average rate of reaction is calculated in a way that a total change of reactants and products concentration is divided with time which is needed for reaction to end.

battery acid    →   baterijska kiselina

Battery acid is a solution of approximately 6 mol L^-1 sulphuric acid used in the lead storage battery

activity    →   aktivitet

Activity (a) is a thermodynamic function used in place of concentration in equilibrium constants for reactions involving nonideal gases and solutions. For the species i activity is defined as

where a_i is the activity of the species i, c_i is its molar concentration, and f_i is a dimensionless quantity called the activity coefficient.

activity coefficient    →   koeficijent aktiviteta

Activity coefficient (γ or f) is a fractional number which, when multiplied by the molar concentration of a substance in solution, yields the chemical activity. This term gives an idea of how much interaction exists between molecules at higher concentration.

In solutions of very low ionic strength, when m is less than 0.01, the Debye-Hückel limiting law can be used to calculate approximate activity coefficients

where γ_i = activity coefficient of the species i, z_i = charge on the species i and μ = ionic strength of the solution.